National Program for Youth in Entrepreneurship "Junior Achievement" Expands Its Activities

Friday, 25 September 2009 10:03

The JA program is an after-school activity that offers high school students the opportunity to learn entrepreneurial skills and understand market principals and business concepts, by challenging students to come up with viable business ideas and to start-up simulated businesses that are managed by the students themselves. According to the Ministry of Education’s endorsement, the Institute for the Advancement of Education declared the Junior Achievement a program of national importance for 2009/2010 school year. This year, JA in Serbia will teach entrepreneurship in 150 high schools across the country with the participation of 4,000 students. Starting from this year, the JA will be introduced in elementary school for the first time in Serbia, whereby through JA’s interactive programs, children will learn about the fundamentals of entrepreneurship from an earlier age. 

Many students in Serbia lack access to practical educational opportunities, which USAID’s Economic Security program seeks to address by providing necessary knowledge, skills and information aimed at increasing young individuals’ potential for employment. USAID is committed to working with Serbian youth to acquire practical skills to succeed in the private sector or to start businesses, and to date has provided approximately $500,000 towards the implementation and development of JA activities in Serbian municipalities outside the City of Belgrade. The City of Belgrade Administration, Secretariat for Education, has supported the JA program in Belgrade high schools since 2005.

Junior Achievement Worldwide (JAW) is a global nonprofit organization educating and inspiring youth in business entrepreneurship. Junior Achievement programs are implemented in 113 countries around the world, out of which 38 are European countries, including Serbia JAS has been active since 2002 in Serbia. To date, the program has been implemented in 200 schools in over 60 municipalities throughout Serbia with the participation of 25,000 students. 

Journalists interested in attending the event are kindly invited to the Belgrade City Hall, 2 Dragoslava Jovanovica Street, on Friday, 25 September, at 15.50 a.m.